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Press Release

Rio Rancho Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Violating Federal Firearms Laws

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – David Garcia, 40, of Rio Rancho, N.M., was sentenced today to five years in federal prison for using and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense.  Garcia will be on supervised release for three years after he completes his prison sentence.

Garcia was arrested in Jan. 2013 on a three-count indictment charging him with (1) being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition; (2) possession of methamphetamine with intent; and (3) using and carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  According to the indictment, Garcia committed these offenses on May 23, 2012.  At the time, Garcia was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine in the 1st Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico.

In Sept. 2013, Garcia pled guilty to count 3 of the indictment.  In entering his guilty plea, Garcia admitted that on May 23, 2012, he possessed a 9mm pistol in addition to possessing methamphetamine which he intended to distribute.  Garcia admitted that he possessed the pistol in order to protect himself and his methamphetamine. 

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Rio Rancho Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David M. Walsh and Louis E. Valencia.

Updated January 26, 2015